What is fish sauce supposed to look like? I bought something that claimed to be fish sauce and it is clear, looks like vegetable oil and is VERY fishy. No way would I put 2 T of this in anything. Please tell me I have the wrong stuff.

What is the brand name of the sauce you bought? Maybe we can find it online and check it out.

My fish sauce is also honey-colored and the consistency is like water. It should smell very fishy, but it's not supposed to be the primary flavor of a dish. It's used like salt - just enough to enhance the flavor but not make the food salty.

__________________The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you're hungry again. ~ George Miller

What is fish sauce supposed to look like? I bought something that claimed to be fish sauce a nd it is clear, looks like vegetable oil and is VERY fishy. No way would I put 2 T of this in anything. Please tell me I have the wrong stuff.

I've never bought fish sauce that was clear (like water clear) .

You might go to Google Images (if your browser has that function) and see if you recognize your bottle there.

When you say clear----- do you mean like water 'clear' or a transparent clear honey color? (Sorry for the clumsy description. )

If it looks like vegetable oil then I assume you mean 'transparent' clear but some color to it.

Is your fish sauce lighter in color than the lightest one shown in this image?

This site will not answer your question but it will explain a lot about fish sauce.

...It's used like salt - just enough to enhance the flavor but not make the food salty.

Ghodur, like GG said it's to enhance the overall flavor of a dish. Since it seems strong to you, just use a scant portion of what a recipe calls for. If the recipe says 1 TBSP you could start with 1 TSP or less. That's what I have done over time with sesame oil. It started out too flavorful for me; as I got used to the flavoring I could put more in.